Examining the 'Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act'

On March 8, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing on H.R. 2299, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act.

Sponsored by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), the act would prohibit any individual from transporting a minor across state lines to have an abortion in order to circumvent a minor’s home state law requiring parental involvement in the abortion decision or prior judicial authorization. An individual who transports a minor across state lines with the intention of avoiding the requirements, or a provider that performs an abortion on an out-of-state minor without parental notification or judicial authorization, would be in violation. A violation would be punishable by fine or imprisonment for up to one year. The measure would make an exception for an abortion necessary to save the life of a minor.

“This bill would substitute the judgment of Congress for the judgment of people who live in states like mine,” said Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). He continued, “In fact, even where the young woman’s state of residence, and the state in which the doctor is located, have both decided not to enact such laws, this bill would impose a new federal parental notification law that is more draconian, and more unconstitutional, than the laws of most states. This bill is the wrong way to deal with a very real problem. It does not provide exceptions to protect a young woman’s health. It does not provide exceptions where a parent has raped a young woman. It even allows the rapist to sue a clergy person or doctor who tries to help the daughter deal with the effects of that crime. I will urge my colleagues to reject this legislation on both constitutional and policy grounds. If only for the sake of humanity, I would urge you to join in providing the needed flexibility for the most difficult real world cases involving the lives of real young women. We owe them at least that much.”